We're here, we're queer... and oy vey, are they used to it.
John A. Perez - Speaker of the House, California State Assembly
Christine C. Quinn - Speaker of the New York City Council
Annise Parker - Mayor of Houston, Texas ( yes, out and proud in freaking Houston! )
Congressman Barney Frank, Massachusetts'4th, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
In my hometown of Atlanta there was a mayoral run-off election , and the two candidates all but got ruby slipper tattoos in order to turn out the rainbow vote. Many, many other elected officials around the country, this is just a highlight.
We are equal citizens in FIVE whole states, and starting in February , Washington DC hops on the SSM bandwagon. A full 10th of the States in the " Freedom and Justice for ALL" good ole USA, can get full blown, bird seed in tulle married. I for one think that is a big deal. Sure it should be more , and we just this past week went down in flames ( ! ) in the New Jersey Senate, but the lgbt powers that be are already on track to take this one to the more liberal New Jersey Supreme Court.
Speaking of the courts..... Just look at this map, a bit complex, isn't it, with New York being that big blob of neutral grey. Now if your typical breeder couple get all liquored up while visiting Las Vegas and get married then fly back to their cul de saced life in outside of Charlotte , North Carolina, they are very much married there in the Tar Heel State. If a same sex couple that has been together for 25 years goes to Iowa and gets married... not so much.
Enter Ted Olsen and David Boies. This will be the real marriage equality story of 2010 and beyond.
From Yahoo News, but the story is everywhere:
SAN FRANCISCO – The national debate over same-sex marriage will take center stage in a California courtroom next week at a closely watched federal trial that could ultimately become the landmark case that determines whether gay Americans have a right to marry.
The case will decide a challenge to California's gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in 2008, and the ruling will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. How the high court rules in the case could set the precedent for whether gay marriage becomes legal nationwide.
"This could be our Brown vs. Board of Education," said former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, referring to the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. "Certainly the plaintiffs will tell you they are hoping for a broad ruling that says that any law that treats someone differently because of sexual orientation violates the U.S. Constitution."
The case marks the first federal trial to examine if the U.S. Constitution permits bans on gay marriages, and the challenge is being bankrolled by a group of liberal Hollywood activists including director Rob Reiner and producer Bruce Cohen.
They retained two of the nation's most influential lawyers to argue the case — former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson and trial lawyer David Boies. The lawyers are best known as the rivals who represented George W. Bush and Al Gore in the "hanging chad" dispute over the 2000 presidential election in Florida, and have tapped the talent of their respective law firms in preparation for the trial and plan to take turns questioning witnesses.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown are defendants in the lawsuit by virtue of their prominent positions in California government, but both men opposed the ban and have refused to defend the suit in court. Schwarzenegger has taken no position on the case, while Brown filed a brief saying he agreed with the Olson-Boies team that gays have the same federal constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals.
The sponsors of the gay marriage ban, a coalition of religious and conservative groups, joined the case as defendants. Their legal team is being led by Charles Cooper, a veteran trial lawyer who worked for the Reagan-era Justice Department. Cooper is being assisted by a team of lawyers from his own firm, along with a Christian legal group based in Arizona. ( the rest...)
The case will decide a challenge to California's gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in 2008, and the ruling will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. How the high court rules in the case could set the precedent for whether gay marriage becomes legal nationwide.
"This could be our Brown vs. Board of Education," said former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, referring to the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. "Certainly the plaintiffs will tell you they are hoping for a broad ruling that says that any law that treats someone differently because of sexual orientation violates the U.S. Constitution."
The case marks the first federal trial to examine if the U.S. Constitution permits bans on gay marriages, and the challenge is being bankrolled by a group of liberal Hollywood activists including director Rob Reiner and producer Bruce Cohen.
They retained two of the nation's most influential lawyers to argue the case — former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson and trial lawyer David Boies. The lawyers are best known as the rivals who represented George W. Bush and Al Gore in the "hanging chad" dispute over the 2000 presidential election in Florida, and have tapped the talent of their respective law firms in preparation for the trial and plan to take turns questioning witnesses.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown are defendants in the lawsuit by virtue of their prominent positions in California government, but both men opposed the ban and have refused to defend the suit in court. Schwarzenegger has taken no position on the case, while Brown filed a brief saying he agreed with the Olson-Boies team that gays have the same federal constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals.
The sponsors of the gay marriage ban, a coalition of religious and conservative groups, joined the case as defendants. Their legal team is being led by Charles Cooper, a veteran trial lawyer who worked for the Reagan-era Justice Department. Cooper is being assisted by a team of lawyers from his own firm, along with a Christian legal group based in Arizona. ( the rest...)
That pesky old 14th amendment, Loving v Virginia... etc.
This is DANGEROUS stuff... This is a Scalia/Thomas court... those boys do not like me! We just have to hope that justice is blind,and that ALL those SCOTUS Roman Catholics live in a post Kennedy ( JF not Anthony..) world. We could lose this case, big time, and then NO rights for any gay person... really. I hope that it would not be this Draconian, but you never can tell...
So, there you go , on the" pulse of this new [decade]". The best of times the worst of times. Freedom is ringing all over.... many battles left to come, and GLBTIQ ( really, that's the way its said now... Ya'll know me, I go straight for the HOMO, but for now, I'll be all P.C.) America has come SO far SO fast. 10 years ago, perky little Vermont dared to stick its green state toe in the water with a timid domestic partnership.... now , again, a full 10th of the country has the real thing. Our enemies are strong and rich, but it is , in 2010 a very hopeful time....
2 comments:
after a short recess, some Kyle blogging I enjoy. Would love to see some food stuff too. :~)
Thanks for this summary. You make it so easy for me to be lazy on this topic.
So can you give me the key to the map? I don't know what all the pretty colors stand for.
Post a Comment